The Denver Nuggets ended last season with a disappointment. After winning the NBA Finals the season before, the Nuggets were bounced by the Timberwolves in the second round. But according to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets should have been ousted in the first round by the Lakers.
"You know how, towards the playoffs, guys get their rest, but I feel like that's where we spent most of our energy at times, trying to get that first place [spot in the West]," Caldwell-Pope told Draymond Green in a recent appearance on "The Draymond Green Show." "Playing catch-up. And then, we get to the playoffs, we have no gas. We felt like the Lakers should've beat us. We was down every game—-at least 10 to, like, 20-something…Taking that energy and using it there. It was a lot that went into that season, no doubt."
The 57-25 Nuggets went 6-4 in their final 10 games, earning the no. 2 seed in the West while the Oklahoma City Thunder earned the top spot. That led to Denver's fateful date with the Lakers, who they previously swept in the Western Conference Finals en route to their first title in franchise history.
While Caldwell-Pope's comments may be surprising to some, he is not wrong to point out how the Lakers had the upper hand for the majority of the series, and could have upset them in the first-round had it not been for several key factors. The nails in the Lakers' coffin were Darvin Ham's lack of adjustments and late-game execution -- which resulted in those blown leads -- as well as poor performances from anyone not named LeBron James or Anthony Davis.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on why the Denver Nuggets struggled in the playoffs:
— BASKETBALL ON 𝕏 (@BASKETBALLonX) July 24, 2024
"We had no gas. We felt like the Lakers should have beat us. We was down every game"
[via https://t.co/16WEM9gMgq] pic.twitter.com/lMydIwZkpy
The Lakers' star tandem came to play in that series. James averaged 27.8 points and 6.8 rebounds while boasting playoff career-highs in assists (8.8) and steals (2.4). Davis, meanwhile, put up 27.8 points, a playoff career-high 15.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 blocks per game against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. The same could not be said for their supporting cast, which, aside from subpar play by Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell, was decimated by season-ending injuries to forward Jarred Vanderbilt and guard Gabe Vincent, who could have very well been difference-makers for the team in the playoffs.
Caldwell-Pope left Denver in the offseason, signing a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic.
